tableau

noun

tab·​leau ˈta-ˌblō  ta-ˈblō 

plural tableaux ˈta-ˌblōz 

ta-ˈblōz

also tableaus

1

: a graphic description or representation : picture

winsome tableaux of old-fashioned literary days

—J. D. Hart

2

: a striking or artistic grouping : arrangement, scene

3

[short for tableau vivant (from French, literally, living picture)] : a depiction of a scene usually presented on a stage by silent and motionless costumed participants

Examples of tableau in a Sentence

The houses are grouped together in a charming tableau.

Recent Examples on the Web

That set up an unusual tableau of Mr. Cameron, a former prime minister, posing for photographs on Omaha Beach with President Biden, President Emmanuel Macron of France and Chancellor Olaf Scholz of Germany. —Mark Landler, New York Times, 7 June 2024

In a window for Bonwit Teller based on the Greek myth Narcissus, Dalí created a tableau that featured a mannequin covered in blood, stepping into a claw-footed bathtub half filled with dirty water. —Julie Satow, Peoplemag, 31 May 2024

Fukuyama looked to the future a little mournfully, seeing a gray, undramatic expanse—a tableau for technocrats. —William MacAskill, Foreign Affairs, 11 Aug. 2022

Fellow chainsaw artist Evelyn Mogren has also been working to carve a wooden tableau of nature, featuring two bears playing, a beaver gnawing at a tree stump, and a fox chasing a rabbit for the town. —Thomas Goodwin Smith, Baltimore Sun, 22 Apr. 2024

Word History

Etymology

French, from Middle French tablel, diminutive of table, from Old French

First Known Use

1660, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing tableau

• tableau curtain

Kids Definition

tableau

noun

tab·​leau ˈtab-ˌlō  ta-ˈblō 

plural tableaux -ˌlōz 

-blōz

also tableaus

: a scene or event shown by a group of persons in costume who remain silent and motionless